In Los Angeles, where summer temperatures regularly surpass 38 degrees Celsius, or 100 degrees Fahrenheit, workers are coating streets in special grey treatments in a bid to help reduce the heat. It?s the first major city to test the technology. Normal black asphalt absorbs 80 to 95 per cent of sunlight, while the gray ?cool pavement? reflects it - reducing ground temperature and urban street heat.
http://www.scmp.com/news/world/united-states-canada/article/2106692/los-angeles-coating-roads-reflective-paint-beat-heat?
A 2023 start-up aiming to make recycling convenient and accessible to all is about to go national. The aim is to provide people with a home pick-up option for some of the "trickier" items the normal recycling bins can't handle - including soft plastics. https://wastemanagementreview.com.au/recyclesmart-goes-national/
A Kyushu University study (2021) estimated there were 24.4 trillion pieces of microplastics in the world's upper oceans or roughly 30 billion 500-ml plastic water bottles. Microplastics are tiny, toxic and very hard to remove from the environment. But researchers in the US have discovered that some Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADES) can attract and bind microplastics, making it easier to remove them from the environment. And the N in NADES is key - natural - in this instance, think extracts from plants. https://www.research.uky.edu/news/researchers-develop-eco-friendly-magnet-battle-microplastics
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